Police station bid passed up as too low

For sale: 1420 Main St.
File photo Town manager Jacquelyn Kelly told selectmen at their Dec. 16 meeting that the town has received just one bid to buy the former police station, but the offering price was so low that she didn’t accept it.

DiVerdi Builders of Paxton offered $225,000 for the twolevel red brick building at 1420 Main St., but an appraisal done in 2012 put the value of the building and property at $460,000, Kelly said.

“I’m very disappointed that we didn’t get more than one bid or anywhere near the value,” she said. “I can’t in good conscience sell it for that price.”

The building has been on the market since the new Public Safety Building was opened in 2008. Town meeting voters first set $700,000 as the minimum sale price, but due to changing market conditions and a lack of interest by prospective buyers, that minimum price was removed.

Kelly suggested an interim plan to spend a small amount of money to refurbish the building for use by the town’s Recreation Department. Extra space in the building could be leased out, she said.

The town could then sell the Recreation Dept. building at 175 Highland St., which is in a residential neighborhood and may be an easier sale, she said.

It may be possible to sell that site as several parcels, Kelly said, but an access road to the Davis Hill Elementary School athletic fields that runs along the property would need to be maintained.